Blazing Hearts (Dilumi) Genshin FF

一

Diluc heaved a sigh once he reached the top of the spiral steps. Nothing had changed since he'd been gone; it still took him 15 minutes to find a parking spot, the halls were as crowded as ever, and the white noise that was his fellow schoolmates' chattering filled his ears so much it felt as if it was melting into his mind as well. He wondered if anyone had even noticed he was gone for 4 months. Well, anyone besides his close friends and you, of course.

You were a good friend of his ever since you'd both met during Freshman year. You both shared an affinity for classical music and met at the university's Swan Lake play. Senior year had just started a few weeks ago and though Diluc had been away visiting his annoying brother and taking care of his manor and business, he still kept in touch with all of his friends (mostly because they sent him their notes). But he spoke to you the most while he was gone.

Honestly, he would consider you a best friend at this point. He considered all his friends now best friends (to varying degrees). If he didn't like someone, Diluc had no problem with cutting people off, so the people that were still in his tight knit circle were special.

As he met various pairs of eyes walking down the hall he chuckled to himself. It seems like his reputation as a free man had not changed; some girls he recognized as having ogled him before when he caught them staring at him. Diluc had never really been interested in dating. He'd had two girlfriends in the past but they were both in middle school, which was more than a decade ago. Besides, relationships seemed like they caused nothing but headaches.

However, he'd gathered over the years that people thought he was dating you and he made no point to prove or deny those rumors. If it kept him free from unwanted interactions and caused you no harm, it was fine right?

He could see why they would think that; he hung out a lot with you more than he did with the other girls in your group, Ningguang and Beidou. Whether it was walking to the cafeteria or to the parking lot to get in his car or motorcycle and go somewhere else for lunch or after class, everyone would assume something was up.

Besides, it may keep him free, but apparently you still had boys and girls coming up to you left and right (even though you were known to reject everyone without a second thought). Diluc shook his head slightly as he sidestepped some guys that were talking to each other. Yes, why get in a relationship if it wasn't with you?

Though he was deep in his thoughts, he would spot that head of blonde hair from miles away. He smiled to himself as he made his way through the mass of students to get next to you in line at your most frequented food truck that served desserts and coffee. He snuck up next to you without you noticing and moved up with you in line, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he watched you order the same thing you always got: a hazelnut iced coffee and cinnamon bites.

Right before you finished ordering he was already in his wallet, and when the cashier told you your total he thrust his card into their hand, making you whip your head around at the suddenness of it. "Diluc?!" You gasped loudly before throwing your arms around his neck in a tight hug. He laughed quietly, one arm around you and the other accepting his card and receipt from the cashier. "Oh my Archons," you smiled brightly, eagerly moving off to the side to wait for your food. "What the- why didn't you tell me you were coming back today? And why did you pay for my food?"

"Hmm," Diluc hummed thoughtfully as he let you go and readjusted his bag, "because I wanted to surprise you and because I wanted to." Diluc rarely had anything to smile about but when it came to you it seemed he couldn't keep one off his face, even if it was just barely a hint of one.

You didn't look any different; your hairstyle was still the same, you had the same book bag, and you were even wearing a shirt he recognized from months ago. Some people may think no change isn't a good thing, but Diluc took comfort in the fact that even after coming back from a country where everything was just different, you were still the same, beautiful Lumine he knew. "Well, let me pay you back," you began rummaging through your book bag for your wallet but Diluc waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. My treat. You can pay next time."